Poignant student speeches highlight Avon Grove Commencement

06/18/2019 02:07PM
● By Richard Gaw

By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

For any 18-year-old who is chosen to deliver a commencement
speech at his or her high graduation, it is often a daunting task, a real
knee-knocker of a moment in which to encapsulate four years into one coherent
message.

Now, try doing that in front of a crowd of 5,000 at a
basketball arena.

That was just what Cassidy Miao, Brendan Duff, Michelle
Pablo-Ortiz, Sahan Sundar and Tyler Curtis did, as their addresses at the Bob
Carpenter Center on June 11 served as the highlight of commencement exercises
for the 2019 graduates of Avon Grove High School.

The event, held before a packed house of family and friends,
saw 438 graduates receive their diplomas, presented to them by Superintendent
Christopher Marchese, School Board President Tracy Lisi, School Board Vice
President Bill Wood and Senior Assistant Principal Dr. Natalie Ortega-Moran.

In his opening remarks, Principal Scott DeShong, he introduced
the 10 graduates who will be entering into the nation's military forces, and
thanked them for their future service. He said that the Class of 2019 will send
88 percent of its graduates to college at over 100 colleges and universities,
and that this year's graduating class have received over $2.7 million in
scholarships and grants.

In her address, “Smells like home,” senior speaker Cassidy
Miao told the audience that the sense of smell “can awaken so many hidden
memories within our brains,” and said to her fellow graduates that it will be
the permeating scent of nearby mushroom farms that will be associated with their
four years at Avon Grove.

“When you played outside with your neighborhood friends as a
kid, when you rode the hot sticky bus home from school, when you traveled
anywhere within Chester County, that same nauseating fragrance follows you, as
it follows you now,” Miao said. “It follows you as a friend, a fellow student,
a fellow athlete, a musician, environmentalist, writer, robotics engineer,
dreamer.”

While many of her fellow graduates will soon be departing for
colleges all across the country, “I hope whenever you return back here you
welcome the ripe, earthy smell of our childhood,” Miao said. “I hope it smells
like home.”

Salutatorian Brendan Duff's address, “On Courage,” discussed
the definition – and application – of courage, which he described as “the
mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or
difficulty.”

“What I like about this definition is that it shows the
difference between courage and fearlessness,” Duff said. “Fearlessness is the
absence of fear, but courage is the ability to overcome it.”

At the conclusion of his address, Duff encouraged his fellow
graduates to be courageous in their lives, to try new things, make difficult
decisions and take calculated risks.

“In 1947, former President Harry Truman wrote, 'America was
not built on fear,” he said. “America was built one courage, on imagination and
an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.' Take this determination
with you into college and the next stage in your lives.”

“Leaving your footprints,” the address given by Valedictorian
Sahana Sundar, encouraged her fellow graduates to consider the large impact
they will have on the world and others. She encouraged them to don't be afraid
to make mistakes and accept them, learn from them and move on.

“The second thing I have to say ties in a lot with the first:
Don't be afraid to ask for help,” Sundar said. “Everyone needs help sometimes,
and there's no shame in accepting support from others. In fact, our support
networks can lift us up and help us step forward into the future.”

Sundar concluded her address by telling the graduates to
believe in themselves, and to erase self-doubt.

“We all have the power to change the world – to leave our
footprints – as long as we believe in ourselves and step forward with confidence,”
she said.

Miao, Duff and Sundar were joined by Senior Speaker
Pablo-Ortiz, who delivered “We are the future,” and Senior Class President
Curtis, who delivered “Become your future.” The event also included
performances of “Pomp and Circumstance” and “Alamo March” by the Avon Grove
High School Graduation Band, a rendition of “Omnia Sol” by the Senior Ensemble
and the Alma Mater by the Avon Grove High School Golden Chorale.